Lasting Impressions
The Newest Arrival Fang laid on his back, right in the middle of the ship. He sighed, completely content with his position. The ocean sun warmed his body quite nicely. It had been sometime since he was last on a ship. At least, one he wasn’t attacking to capture any worthwhile bounties. "This is the life." "I. Knew. It! I REALLY DID," A voice ringed from across the deck, "From when Captain said the newest member was a former Marine!" Standing tall was Rena Alexis, another member of the Cheeky Pirates. She had silver hair tied into side poinytails, and wore an exquisite dress. But, indeed, she had been right all the time, one could just go and gather all the stuff she had seen. How Fang laid himself out, the stuff he seemed to comment. But, Alexis couldn't call him out from the get-go, no, she had to get more evidence. Alexis continued to comment a second later, "It is no wonder that I've had to seek and fix so much stuff you guys did." Her eyes widened after observing Fang for a few seconds, Alexis brought her left hand to cup her chin, which was pointed. "How much did you pay Captain?" Maybe that would make even more sense. Fang opened a single eye, looking at the young woman out of the corner of it. “Good morning.” He closed his eye again as he continued sunbathing. “I didn’t bribe the Captain by the way. He was simply very persuasive. On the wooden yard from up above, a silver-haired man clad in monk's attire could be spotted walking along its perimeter as he swept down the contents of his trusty companion that was a battle-scarred gourd. His entire body arching back to the point of his head reaching the same level as the man's waist before suddenly lifting his feet and shoving his entire body backwards; making a flip and landing on the same spot. Jackal's mouth grew wide as rows of teeth put itself on display at his own triumph, only for the sound of a loud female voice grab his attention. Lips closing, eyebrows furrowing as he peered down at the two other members. As he leaned ever forward, so too did his feet start slipping and before Jackal knew it. "SHIIHEE-" He' find himself falling headfirst towards the ocean that surrounded them. Yet, be it with sheer luck or the work of faith, a piece rope found itself strapped across his left ankle which promptly stopped his descent, "-EEET...?" Now hanging from a piece of rope just above the sea like bait for the fishes, Jackal looked around and spotted the two other pirates from before. Lifting his hand- or lowered from his crewmates angle, "Yooo! Mind giving me hand here!?" "Guess that’s enough sunbathing for the day." Fang leaned forward as he got to his feet. "I’ll get him." He walked over to the edge of the ship and jumped overboard. "Geppo!" His grey lightly jumped off the air as he made his way over to Jackal, hopping off the air after he stopped next to him. "It appears as though luck was on your side. Rankyaku!" He performed a swift kick, cutting rope, and grabbing onto Jackal’s leg before he could fall any further. He threw him back into the deck of the ship before jumping back on himself. "Please try to be more careful next time. I doubt a rope will catch you two times in a row." Noticing that if he'd go on this way, Jackal would end up burying his skull into the planks above deck. Much like the crewmate that had come to his aid, the monk would thrust his leg against the air to perform yet another flip while being in mid-flight. Both feet soon finding themselves safely onboard the ship, Jackal would go on to stretch out his arms to the sides before lowering his upper body forward. Bowing three times in every direction as if it was the end of a performance before straightening his posture and start turning towards his saviour. Only to halt mid-way as he spotted the young lady with the loud voice from earlier. He didn't say anything, simply stared blankly at her for a few good moments before continuing with his original plan to gazed instead at the other Geppo user. "Oi... Suppose I owe you one." Reaching down for his gourd before lifting it up and shaking it a little, making it clear what he was offering. Fang held up his hand, rejecting the offer. "No thank you. You can keep. You’ll owe me the next time I need to save you." He walked back to the middle of ship, falling back onto the deck with a loud "Thud!" "So, who are you guys anyways?" Near their position, a dark furred canine's head suddenly burst through the deck's plank flooring, sending the shards all over the place as the head turned left and right to see where it was. "This doesn't look like the bathroom..." the mink said before descending back into the hole. Fang almost jumped backwards from the sudden arrival of the Mink. "What the hell...?" He had so many questions, none of which he felt could be answered by anyone present. "Such. Disrespect!" Alexis said yet again, crossing her arms, though, it was very good that Fang at least helped Jackal as well. What was it with all of them being so... weird? Well, it didn't matter much. Wait no, now it did, "Have you never seen a Mink?" Fang continued his sunbathing, his eyes closed once again. "I've been around the seas long enough to what a Mink is. I'm more confused by why they decided to launch their head through the deck." A second or two passed before his eyes fluttered open and he turned towards the silver-haired maiden onto his side. While the smile itself couldn't be seen, his scarf clearly curved into the shape of one. "My name's Fang by the way. Nice to meet you." Having taken his time to contemplate whether or not to follow the mink after the canine's sudden appearance, the scarred monk instead turned towards the mainmast and started making his way over. Incidentally passing between Fang and the other woman, his eye catching the former as he reached out their hand. Without having paid much attention to anything but the last few words, Jackal reached out to shake the man's hand as he slipped through- "Jackal, likewise." Looking back up and spotting the silver-haired woman once again, the same blank stare resurfaced as before without so much as a word to go with it. The monk proceeded to walk past her and back towards the mast from which he'd originally fallen down from. Fang rolled his eyes as he took Jackal's hand with a smile, getting back to his feet after doing so. He began light stretching as he faced Alexis. "And you are?" he asked her. Alexis eyed Jackal's walking form for a solid second, she only pondered if he would actually get into some misfortune yet again. What even were these crewmembers that Kerrim decided to gather? Alexis buffed for a second, her head whipping around with her eyes widened once a question was directed towards her. Right, the other one was still there. "Oh, sorry about that..." For some reason, Alexis tried a smile, scratching the side of her face. Then, she gathered her posture and bowed very slightly at him. "My name is Rena Alexis, nothing too different nor anything of the sort." "Pleased to make your acquaintance." His head dipped as well as he made a slight bow of his own. "Varanus Fang. I didn't expect to meet an attractive young woman such as yourself amongst a crew of pirates, but the world is big after all. And I suppose everyone has there reasons for being here. I mean, I'm here after all." He held out his hand to her for a shake. Extending her hand to shake his, Alexis tilted her head to the side only a bit and slanded her eyes. "We can't be in pirate crews now?" After she pulled her hand back though, she did another comment, "Anyway, don't respond it... just, thank you!" Of course, he directed a compliment after her, it was not something that she should turn down. "I've met Kerrim before, didn't think he remembered me," Alexis glanced around the ship, seeing if the Captain was anywhere in sight. "But yeah, I'm here too." Fang laughed at Alexis' reaction, head tilted up to the sky, the ends of his scarf ruffling as it changed to match the shape of his grin. "Krihahahaha! I see. I'm all ears if you'd like to tell me the story. An encounter with an infamous pirate captain like Kerrim must be an interesting story." Hah, he laughed, Alexis observed and wasn't quite bothered, "No, don't worry really." She dismissed just as quickly. "The story ain't something oustanding nor should we be worrying about it." Indeed, they were all standing there, doing nothing by and to the ship itself, Alexis frowned. "It was when he wasn't a pirate, just to clear it out." "Anyway," Alexis gestured for around her and the deck of the ship, "Where exactly is Captain? Did he leave again without notifying someone that would remember it?" Fang sighed. "He told me that he needed to go take care of something, then dropped me off here. I thought he would’ve at least introduced me to the rest of the crew first, but I guess not. Kerrim is a little... strange." Fang plopped himself back down onto the deck of the ship. "So, I took care of my personal chores then started sunbathing. I never really get the chance to do it anymore." A nod, that was all Alexis offered at the information Fang dumped. Or so it seemed, for her mouth opened the next second. "You can stay there however long you want to, but we need to know where exactly he may be," There was no doubt, no thought, lingering in their minds about Kerrim's strength. More than once, twice, thrice, he proved himself to them and to the world. Yet, Alexis knew that risks couldn't be taken in the New World, especially given their status, the Captain being a Super Rookie. People could come for them, Pirates wanting to gain fame, stronger Marines deployed due to the many reports. Amidst Alexis's thoughts, the door to the Captain's Quarters would quickly swing open. Kerrim would glance around the ship. The shadow-less figures of everyone aboard the ship only caused a resting ease on the man's face. Dusting his hands, Kerrim would reach into his pocket. The lack of clanging metal made it apparent his trusted rapier, Mistilteinn, hadn't been on his person. Why would it? There wasn't any threats aboard the ship after all. Kerrim would rub something baring a crimson color off his cheek using a handkerchief, slipping it into his pocket with finesse. He would look over to see the hole in his deck, a cold gaze on his face. "Alexis. Did you see who did this?" Kerrim spoke, a calm tone but he was visually about to explode from the inside out. Eyes wide, Alexis turned over to see Kerrim over the deck, "Oh, Captain!" She greeted him with a wave. "I thought you had been gone!" Noticing that he seemed to be in a not so great mood, Alexis preferred to just answer his response. "Xie was just checking around the ship... he apparently didn't find the bathroom?" "The mink. Of course!" Kerrim spoke out enthusiastically, he would speak in a low tone to himself, thought bubbles encircling his head as he did so. "Iknewitwashim! Thecheekytonto! Iwillmakethatcoglionepayforthistretchery!" He continued saying, walking closer and closer to the plank that led to the bottom of the ship. Suddenly he would stop, turning around quickly and acknowledging Fang's presence. His eye would flare red for a second, his gaze analytic. "So. Fang, you getting along with the others well?" "I think so," he said, smiling under his mask. "My Kenbunshoku Haki isn’t as advanced as yours though, so I could be missing some underlying emotions." He leaned in closer to Kerrim so no one else could hear. "Alexis seems especially nice. I’d especially like to learn more about her in the future." Listening to Fang's comment, Kerrim's eyes would open ever so slightly more than usual. He would give of a small chuckle that could've also passed as of scoff. "Tell me how that goes, ushishi!" He laughed, nudging Fang. "If you do manage something, just make sure you don't put any infants on my ship. I don't need anymore than I already have." Fang’s eyebrows furrowed, then raised at a sudden realization. "Not that kind of interest. Wait a second. Other infants? Do you have kids?" His final clause was laced with great excitement of this revelation. More of a giddy wonderment than anything. Raising his own eyebrow, Kerrim would look at Fang with confusion at his statement. "Fang. Look around us. I'm literally surrounded by children. Fang almost asked to see them, but stopped himself. His eyes darted around the deck of the ship as he came to a realization. His eyes narrowed, showing his discontent with his captain. "I take exception to that." "No. You're one of them too. Just the edgy one who was recently adopted and doesn't like his new family." Kerrim stated jokingly, walking away from Fang and moving to the steering wheel. Standing at the highest point of the ship he could reach on feet, Kerrim raised his voice to ensure everyone on the ship could hear. "Listen up stronzos! In a little under half an hour, we're going to dock at an island. I want all of you to behave and avoid causing a riot! Show me that you're all grown ups for once and maybe we'll go somewhere nice. Like...a water park or something." He ended, stepping down and walking back towards Alexis and Fang, however his attention was to reach the former. "Alexis, make sure no one else is damaging my ship. Osiris will do the repairs later. And scold Xie for me, I would do it myself but I feel like I'll kill him if he does that damn back-sassing." A blink, another one. "Me...?" Alexis pointed at herself, mouth in an oval shape while she continued to blink rapidly. "Captain, I think you are trusting me too much with this, what will the others think?" Though they knew each other from back then, Alexis knew very well that she was one of the latest additions, everyone did. Kerrim had almost walked away, quickly stopping as Alexis's statement. A sigh, "Don't read too much into it. Rene is gone, Envy and Bryceen are back at Foodvalten, and everyone else on this ship is clearly irresponsible. It's either you or the marine. And between you two, I trust the one that didn't try to thrust his finger through my neck more." Kerrim spoke, making direct eye contact with Fang as he said so. He began walking towards his quarters yet again. "Seeing as you're not interested in Alexis in that way..." Before continuing, Kerrim chuckled before shutting himself up. "Nevermind, have fun doing whatever it is you do." Fang simply shrugged his shoulders at Kerrim’s comment, turning towards Alexis. "It didn’t work." "Oh..." Alexis muttered upon Kerrim's response, she supposed that that had made more sense than anything else, of course. Of course... she turned to Fang. "I guess that doesn't matter now," Alexis walked through the deck, making her way just above the entrance to the ship's quarters, "I will be keeping an eye from here, we should be docking sometime soon." Sitting on the wood, Alexis continued to speak, adressing Fang. "Once we do, would you assist in getting stuff inside the island?" Realizing her own phrasing, she spoke further, "Food, drinks, you know, resources." Fang chuckled. "Krihaha! Of course, I can at least do that much." He looked around briefly. No one was in danger at the moment. He closed his eyes, and fell backwards onto the deck with a "thud", arms and legs sprawled across. "Make sure I’m awake when we get there." "..." Alexis stared at Fang for a solid second. "Don't do that again, Captain just warned us," She kept her voice not too low, but there hadn't been any need to shout either, just like she usually did. That could be quite a fresh breath, fresher than the salt water surrounding them. Eyeing his laying figure, Alexis inhaled deeply and prepared to say even more stuff, yet, the visage of his uncare for the situation, at least, that was what she saw, stopped her in her tracks. "Hmmmm," Alexis sighed, allowing her eyes to close briefly, this prompted the sound of the waves against the ship and the smell of the salt to reach her more easily. Still, Alexis did wonder what kind of island they would find next, they hadn't been in a lot of adventures together, but that could change. The New Wold was more than full of surprises. Another Island, Another Conflict Having sailed the brief time to reach the nearby island, it was yet another visit with purpose. The village was visible in an instant. The docks were small, yet it had a number of workers placing cargo onto what ships were docked. Most of the buildings visible were no taller than two stories, and even then, very few had managed to reach that height in itself. A quaint place, not too many people would be interested in this island outside of using it to restock supplies. And that was precisely why Kerrim had wanted to dock. It had been a few days since the crew had stocked back up. Most of the supplies they had were taken off the ship and stored on Foodvalten. And what was left on the ship had been reduced to near nothing due to the increase in crewmates as of late. It was highly important that, while they were close, the crew get what they needed. Kerrim had already taken it upon himself to step on the deck. Too tired to even bother collecting anyone who wasn't present at the moment, he simply looked off to them all. "Alright. Who wants to go out and get the supplies?" He spoke, leaving room for options. Fang kicked up from his spot on the deck, landing on his feet. "Well, I did volunteer to bring aboard the materials. Could be fun." He followed Kerrim as he walked off of the ship. A furry fist burst through the deck of the ship, creating a hole for the being underneath to climb through as shards of wood covered the ground around it. Revealing it to be the mink from before, Itim pulled himself out and sniffed at the dock's air as he held onto his sheathed sword. "I'm heading out. I think I'll need a drink after that trip." Taking note of Xie's sudden appearance. Kerrim had realized Alexis more than likely hadn't conveyed his message earlier. Either that or he doubted whatever the young lady had told the mink. Kerrim, as usual, held a blank expression to his face. He would take the initiative to walk over to the mink. And may this be the last time this happened. "Ah. Itim Xie. It came to my attention that you put a hole in my ship earlier, and now you've decided to add a second?" Kerrim allowed himself to keep a composure. And this would be the final time Kerrim would tolerate such disrespect. "You can treat anywhere here as you wish. But, you WILL respect me AND my ship." In that moment, Xie would find himself in a deafening silence. The voice of not only the other crew mates, but nature itself wouldn't dare interrupt the words of Red Feather. Time stood at a stand still for all but Kerrim and the mink. At that moment, Xie could feel it. Instead of feeling a chill, he would feel his blood boil. He would feel Kerrim. The silent anger and violence. Ohhh and the everlasting cruelty. Xie could feel it all, for Kerrim allowed him to. Just so it would be clear. Xie had seemingly gotten it in his head that he was safe of punishment. That Kerrim took him under his banner because he needed him. But for that moment in time, that felt like an eternity, Kerrim wanted him to see the truth. None of them were here because Kerrim needed nor did he fully want them. To him, they were numbers. Or more accurately, pieces to his chess board. And he would off whoever he needed to in order to get what he wanted. And to disrespect the man who seemingly held your life in his hands was a poor choice. Did Kerrim hold Xie's life in his hand? Of course he did. There had been a reason shadows failed to persist on the Laughing Turtle without Kerrim's say so. Xie was cocky, arrogant, and believed for whatever reason that Kerrim wouldn't reprimand him. But truth was, if Xie refused to respect Kerrim at this moment, the Captain had every inch of his mind prepared to rid the world of one less mink. The silence would break, only by Kerrim's whim. "Have we reached an understanding?" Itim stood there with a smirk, showing the side of his fanged jaw to whoever was in that direction. "You may think of me as another of one of your crew to cower under your protection and leadership little man. But I'd rather get one thing clear here, I hold no trust for any on this crew here. I'd be expecting a knife in my back from any one of you'se anytime now as how pirates are. But there's very little motivation for me to fear right now as there are far scarier things in this world than the likes of any of you that's for sure." He began talking in a rough deep voice, walking over and leaning onto the taffrail of the ship. While Itim may have been facing death, there was no glimmer of fear anywhere on his expressions, standing firm against the captain's talk. It was as if he was speaking from experience in that last statement, comparing past situations to the likes of now whilst speaking to the Cheeky Pirates'captain. The mink began tapping a finger on the top of the taffrail, listening to the sound of his finger drum against the wood while continuing to talk. "I may lack the ability to care for much due to being in the game for how many years now, but I'll gladly apologise if I had upset you with the two minor holes that I've created on the deck of this ship. We're all here to use each other in some way, so I'd prefer to continue being here to see that I can see through to what I had expected from all of you." He said as he got off from the taffrail and crossed his arms. "So yes. We have an understanding". Kerrim listened to Xie's words. Although being considered a Rookie, Kerrim had too realized he lived through a many times of experience as a pirate. He knew the mistakes that she made. She trusted too well, but Kerrim had known from his last episode that trust doesn't buy you power. As such, Xie's words caught him off guard. His mouth curved downwards slightly as he observed the mink's attitude. He removed his hat, checking the organization of the feathery decor. He would even stand on the figurehead of the ship, looking into the water. He was seemingly searching for something. Something that wasn't there. He rubbed a hand down his face slowly, waking himself again. "Scarier? Than me?" Kerrim spoke quietly to himself. He continued to gaze at his hat, his outfit. Searching. He leaned up, turning to face the rest of the crew. His composure had returned, for that brief moment, he had lost it. But what type of leader would he be to let himself be seen like that for too long. "Good. I don't intend on ruling through fear. In fact, I'd rather you learn to trust everyone here. It helps build character." Kerrim spoke with a charisma to him, words that spoke meaning. Fang coughed. It was completely involuntary. He actually had a tickle in his throat, yet the action felt so wrong in that moment. "Sorry..." Fang mumbled, beginning to take steps away from his captain as he ended to exit the ship, "but I'm gonna... go." He turned around and his body immediately disappeared. Soru had so many uses, even outside of combat. He appeared next to Alexis, almost appearing to come out of thin air. "Hey there, you wanna get going? You still need help with those supplies, right?" He clearly wanted to be anywhere but the ship. Unlike the others, Alexis hadn't been present during the brief conflict between Kerrim and Xie, the only feeling that crept up her spine was one of uneasiness, but it was short lived. With Fang's emergence, she quickly adressed him. "Yes, that could be better..." She stared out at the ship, letting some wind breezes pass by her briefly. "I would appreciate it." Then, Alexis blinked rather fast, asking a question. "Oh, didn't Captain give out any instructions or anything?" "Not to me," Fang answered. "I imagine we just need basic supplies though. He said we were running low on food and water. I could use some fertilizer and dirt myself." His voice was still a little shaky from Kerrim's display, but he was quickly recovering. Not giving any thoughts into Fang's behavior, Alexis simply walked on ahead, deeming he would likely accompany her. "We'll be sure to get stuff for everyone anyway," Of course that would include Fang, he was another Cheeky Pirate, recent as he was. The both of them were quick to get further into the town, though they walked normally. It was just like they saw before docking, it wasn't large nor very notable, just another piece of land povoating the vast seas of the New World. Yet, something crept up on Alexis' mind, a sensation moreso, it didn't look as if it came from the villagers, they hadn't met any for the few minutes they were there. Still, haki or not, she knew they would meet soon. "Hello, hello!" Someone said all of a sudden, standing in front of a shop, "Newcomers to our island!! Feel welcome please, please!" An elderly man with simple formal clothes approached the two in the middle of the street. "Are you here to indulge in our products?" He clapped his hands and moved them, "Pretty please!" "Well, I wouldn't be against buying any of your wares," Fang said, much more chipper than he had been before. "Do you have any high-quality dirt per chance? I could really use some for my garden." He was absolutely beaming now. Anyone could tell how proud he was of the plants he grew. "Oh- T-Thank you good sir!!" The elder said, nodding his head in a rapid motion. "We've not had much costumers... and it's been so hard!" He took to approaching the shop behind them, taking out a pot that contained some plants and a large quantity of soil. "I have these, does it suffice? It would be about 1,000." Alexis eyed the man as he went into his own shop, then, around herself in search of the other shoppers. Some stood outside their buildings and had their eyes over the two of them, likely ready to call them over and offer their own goods. Even then, Alexis could already feel that uneasiness truly didn't steem from them, the aura of animosity. "Would you know any specific shop for us to get building materials and supplies, sir?" She asked, diverging her attention from whatever it was further into this island. Stopping for a moment, the elderly man lost his smile and looked down, as if thinking. "Um, sorry miss, but there are quite a few shops for those," With a head motion, he gestured for the shops down the stone street, many of them had different logos, some signalizing pet shops, some showing food stands. Part of them had neon signs, while the others were much simple. "Thanks!" Fang said enthusiastically. He brought the pot close to his face. It sounded as if he was rapidly sticking his tongue out from behind his scarf. "Smells good..." Fang said, almost to himself, "seems high quality, but I'm not sure if this is 1,000 dirt..." He looked over to Alexis. The memory of the two holes Xie had put in the deck suddenly returned to him. Perhaps it would be wiser to save time and not try to haggle for a pot of dirt. "...but it's probably worth it." Fang took the necessary bills out of his pocket, handing them to the vendor. "After you." Fang gestured with his free hand down the street. They'd find building supplies soon enough. "I would apologize, sir," The elder clapped his hands again, letting a frown overtake his face completely. "But our management has asked of us to make as much lucre as possible..." He swallowed dryly, eyes darting from one side to the other. Alexis' attention hovered over the elder's form, studying his expression and mannerisms carefully, but she left her own expression as blank as possible. He seemed to look somewhere, Alexis tried to follow his gaze silently, she felt someone backing away into a corner of the shop. Lucre as possible? Again, she looked ahead into the street, shaking her head off the presence of the corner, "Thank you again, sir." Alexis smiled briefly, to which the elder did the same and retreated after being handed the money. There were a lot more shops for them to check, Alexis found it better just to get the priorities first, but Fang was already taking the initiative. So, she questioned him, "What should we get next?" "It would probably be best to get wood to fix the holes in the deck. We know we'll need that." He gave Alexis a knowing look, as if to say "Look natural". He didn’t have to look around, but his sense of smell and Haki told him that something was up. A nod, Alexis replied, "Alright then..." She let the words trail off her tongue, they would just walk on ahead, while she looked sideways just in case. Snap. For a mere moment, Alexis slowed down her steps, the noise of fingers snapping entering her ears swiftly, she wondered if Fang heard it, but maybe asking or signalizing to him would sell them off. Rather than check her ears either, should they be fooling her, she simply continued to walk. Snap, even more faint, the noise reached over the both of them, who were about to step over into the building with a material logo on it. Fang's hidden grin didn't leave his face. He might have been trying to hard too keep up appearances, but it never hurt to be careful. He stopped just outside of the material shop next to Alexis. "This seems like the place. Do you think we'll be done in a snap?" He put emphasis on his last word. "Yes, I think so," Alexis eyed Fang for a solid second. The wood they stepped over didn't creak, quite firm maybe, both of them walked through the main hall of the shop, it was littered with materials, many materials of different kinds. Though, unlike what one could expect, there weren't a lot of people inside the place, only a cashier behind a counter. He, too, was an elderly man, but he looked to be younger than the previous one, "Hello! Welcome," He greeted them with a wave and walked towards them. "This is my E- Material House! How can I help you?" Did he just stutter? "Greetings sir," Alexis said, trying to look around the place to see what kind of stuff they would have. "We were looking for some reinforcement material." She considered for a moment, mouth open, "...For a ship, we need some repairs, someone blasted a hole." Meanwhile, she was sure Fang was looking around the place. The elder blinked for a second, as if registering her demand. "I got just the right one!" He walked more into the halls, behind some shelves. A faint click sounded from there. With the man back and holding a wooden piece, Alexis gestured for Fang to grab it, he would likely have an easier time holding it. Though, the man did seem to hold the piece with quite easy, maybe it just looked heavy, eh, still, Fang should do it. "Here is your- piece, how is it?" Was he stuttering again? Alexis frowned, creepy old man. However, Alexis' opinion laid elsewhere, suddenly shifting. "Well, I mean, we could evaluate other pieces..." She turned to Fang, "Unless you just want this one. I guess feeling it is the best way," Alexis glanced at the wood, frowning. Fang took the piece of wood, examining it. He took out another piece of wood from his pocket, a fragment that handed landed near his feet when Xie erupted from the floor. "I don't think the color will match. I may not have known him for very long, but something tells me that the broken aesthetic will piss him off." He handed the wood fragment to the old man. "Do have anything in this color, with at least the same level of durability?" Alexis' eyes almost burst with how many veins appeared, "FANG-" Her left leg had surged to try and kick the wood away, but a very bright flash overcame both of their eyes, no, both of their frames. Even the shopkeeper widened his eyes due to the sudden feeling. Visions covered, ears ringing, everything went white, a white that swarmed them. From over the Laughting Turtle, the Cheeky Pirates didn't just hear, but saw a big brightness in the distance, it took the form of a surging pillar that contained both fire and smoke. Flames that shook the very island and ground they touched, surging taller than any construction. Flames that engulfed all of the building, breaking it into many fiery pieces, and birthed from the very wood that Fang had been holding. Even the surrounding buildings were swiftly destroyed by the explosion, shockwaves and gusts of wind going everywhere through the streets, some citizens got caught in it and were instantly burned. A singular quake reverbered, furniture from adjacent places falling down. Given how sudden it was, it was extremely difficult for any of them to have even escaped from its radius, especially since they were close to its ground zero. A large crater stood where once was the supposed Material Store, only smoke and charred remains were there. The shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen, only a few straps of his clothes remained. Then, someone shouted, "T-The explosives' shop!!" They stared with widened eyes. "It exploded!!" Their eyes widened even more, such an explosion was likely a collective chain from the many explosives within there. Amidst all of the smoke, a cough could be heard. There Alexis was, laying down wherever in the crater, she coughed a mixture of blood and smoke, trying to gasp for the air that came in slowly. Alexis couldn't hear the flames nor her own voice, her vision was blurry, she mostly saw black and grey, her form was littered in burning marks. Couldn't she feel any pain either? She gasped further, if that was the case, there could be hidden damage. Fang. There was also Fang. Alexis instantly whipped around, twisting her frame so that she would walk around and search for her newest crewmate. However, she found herself falling forward and pushed either hand to hold it from happening, goddamn, she hadn't even taken a second step. Alexis turned her head around- Her mouth almost fell, the inwards of her eyebrows rose, and her eyes trembled within their sockets. Behind her was a pool of blood, and it took the place where the lower half of her left leg should have been. Scream, Alexis wanted to scream, maybe she did, but her ears had yet to recover from the explosion. Standing where Fang once was, a black statue of a giant lizardman had been erected. Its chest rose and fell, as if it were breathing. It was then that anyone looking would notice that this was indeed not a statue. Fang panted, much of his clothing having been burned off. Despite the usage of his Haki, his skin was covered in numerous burns. "Well this is infuriating. How the hell was that piece of plywood even explosive!?" His skin turned back to its natural color and his body shrunk back down to his normal size. He suddenly realized that his mouth was uncovered, grabbing whatever scraps of fabric he could to wrap around his mouth. He looked around the carnage he had wrought, and he couldn't help but think of what to do with all this perfectly good material. "Later, I'll do it later." He ran over to Alexis, checking her condition. "Hey, are you alright!" he shouted. He noticed her leg, or at least what was left of it. He couldn't help but feel responsible. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Alexis' screams ringed out just like the explosion did, everyone else could listen to them just fine. Her body spasmed as she tried to move however much she could, but, of course only her existing limbs moved, though only barely. Shivers and shocks coursed through them, coming off from the wound of her left leg, Alexis couldn't even register that Fang stood beside her nor that he was asking her something. Blood gushed out of the wound even more and painted the ground beneath her, with how much she continued to scream, Alexis was almost biting her own tongue off. Then, snap, yet she couldn't hear it, for her ears had to recover still, unlike Fang's. More snapping came, came from anywhere, everywhere. Was Fang susceptible to it once again? Regardless, many steps ressounded from around the crater, though they quickly vanished, many scents entered his radius. Fang could surely rely on his other senses, however, there was quite a lot of smoke and flames over the entirety of the place. Coupled with the increasing scent of Alexis' blood, all of them would surely difficult the usage of his nose. "Oh great..." Not only was he being surrounded, but his crew mate couldn't even hear him. He could try to escape with Alexis, but he wasn't certain she'd make it before succumbing to blood loss. There was only one thing he could really do for now. Fang ripped off one of the few remaining pieces of cloth still clinging to his body. He tied it around Alexis' stump of a leg, the cloth itself turning black from his Haki. "This is gonna hurt." He didn't think she could hear him yet, but it was worth giving her the courtesy anyways. He yanked hard, aiming to cut off the flow of blood from her leg. At least for the moment. A green smile and shining eyes creeped from within the embers and surroundings, Fang was very well open, at least that was what could be said. Since he hadn't protected himself from the sound of the snaps again, he was at a mercy that even he didn't know, for his senses had been... altered. These same snaps were the ones that managed to mask the explosive that they fell prey to. Stretching his fingers open, the owner of the aforementioned smile seemed to appear out of thin air above Alexis and Fang. He had long silver hair, pale skin, a few tattoos, green aura oozed from his open hand, shaping his fingers into a long claw out of semi-transparent Haki. Trails, each to one finger, followed his figure, a figure that flickered. With a downwards push, the figure aimed to strike both Fang and Alexis with a fully-fingered cut from his claw. However, his movement held no sound, the air wasn't pushed, yet it bent around the two Cheeky Pirates. It seemed that this man was extremely good at staying quiet, given that he walked through the smoke without being detected. Fang's eyes widened in shock as the man appeared above him. His smell had never failed him before, even with all the smoke he should've picked up on something. Even his Haki had failed him? There was no time to dodge, not if he wanted to protect Alexis. He arched his body over her's using himself as a shield. "Tekkai!" His muscles stiffened as his body became as hard as iron, his back turning black from his Haki. He gritted his teeth in pain as he felt the strike. A sneak attack and they tried to hurt his already injured comrade. He was starting to get pissed off now. His eyes briefly turned red, but almost as quickly turned back to green. "No time for that now." He hoisted Alexis over his shoulder, and turned to flee to the ship. "Geppo!" Faster than the eye could see, he began fleeing back to the ship. He'd deal with their attackers as soon as Alexis was to safety. Failed him? No, Fang's senses and Haki were actually very sharp, on point even, the true matter at hand was the deviation they had suffered. Confusing one's abilities was not only simpler, it required less power in itself. When Fang moved forward and away from his attacker, he was supposed to get away from harm just as easily. But, reality was much different, for when the man's hand struck him in the back his flickering form disappeared just like it had appeared. Fang's senses of vision and touch had been meddled to the point that he felt an attack on his back side, however, said attack came from in front of him. Since he had felt pain, there was no doubt that Fang air-jumped directly into his opponent's attack, the smacking of a haki-imbued palm, and would get flying backwards into the town through a sonic boom. However much he was affected beyond the pain, it wasn't known yet. Alexis had already lost consciousness, only increasing the weight of her body upon Fang's hold, not that that even held his strength down, even by any bit. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were closed, body so limp that it seemed that any sort of strong attack could permanently damage her. "What do we got 'ere..." The attacker spoke out, standing tall amidst the clouds of smoke and atop the crater. Howls, the wind pushed his mane of a hair slightly. "Billie's sensory was right, biruru." His dark blue kimono matched with the place's darkness. One-Step Willy glared at Fang and Alexis, frame with muscles exposed. This man was one of the "Quattro Temporalli" of the O.G Pirates, classified as a Nearland combatant, and a pirate whose bounty went up to 230,000,000 just recently. Willy smiled, even now his figure flickered. Fang continued his attempt to flee, going higher and farther away from his original position. He could see the ship already. The distance wasn’t very far, but it was the journey, not the destination. He was going as fast as possible as he was, but he didn’t want to risk getting caught. As high as was, he still didn’t know much about his aggressors. The muscles of his legs legs seemed to bulge in size and scales covered the skin. The speed of his Geppo being drastically increased by his partial transformation. "Kamisori!" And anyone looking upon him in the air would see nothing but a flicker. Willy's smiled widened, Fang was moving around quite a lot, more than desperate struggle it signalized just how much he treasured his crewmate. Definitely a weak point. That all made his intention very much clear, Willy specialized in more than simply moving around, the one that was there and looked at Fang's departure vanished away. The real Willy glided through the scenario and accompanied Fang from a distance, slicing apart the very air around him and prompting his appearance to come out as a blurr. Since Fang was still under the influence of the snapping, it only difficulted his own senses from noticing Willy's form. Yet, the latter didn't enact to attack just yet, for the direction that Fang was going to... Another man with silver hair didn't bother himself with positioning the body of the cannon he sat atop, its fire had been already lit. No second after, a boom filled the surroundings streets as the signal of the cannon ball leaving its shooter, however, before it could fly into the distance, aimlessly, the ball was rebound by what seemed to be a simple touch of the man's palm. It came from the side, this palm pushed the cannonfire like it was a simple sportsball, it moved even rougher than it did when fired by the cannon and possessed a clear target. Fang. One-Glance Billy, another of the Quattro Temporalli of the O.G crew, needed naught but a simple look to determine the trajectory of Fang's "Kamisori". His bounty had shot up as well, it now stood at 220,000,000. With the cannonball aimed for him, there were high chances of Fang shifting his movements, and Willy was on the trail. In another wide smile, Willy drew both of his arms back, shooting off a myriad of claw slashes with either of them, looking out for the direction that Fang would go if dodging the cannonball. Fireworks littered the sky around them, sky unprepared to receive the brunt of Willy's attack. Choices As he attempted to flee, Fang felt the many attacks coming from below him. They were really gunning for him, huh. He was more confused why he was such a big target now than anything. What had he done that really made him a target? Or perhaps they were after Alexis and he was simply in the way. Questions for later. With his arms more occupied with carrying his comrade, that only left him with one method to really defend himself: his legs. They turned black as his body hardened with Busoshoku Haki, and a blue light seemed to emanate from them. Rapidly, he began kicking off of the air. But it wasn't like before, he stayed stationary. This wasn't Geppo. "Rankyaku "Ryu no Ame!" Blades of air began raining down below him onto the already battered town. They were sharp, strong, almost like lasers. One pierced through the cannonball causing it to explode in midair, destabilizing some of the other blasts sent his way. The rest, they were used to counteract the attacks made by Willy. He continued from that as well, letting his Rankyaku rain down upon those who dared attack him and his comrade. As soon as his attack ceased, he continued to ascend in a diagonal direction with Geppo, hoping to get out of the range of whatever that strange snapping was and get closer to the ship. As Fang continued his attempt to flee the battle, he would suddenly find himself relieved of a great weight. While comforting at first, it would soon become alarming once he realized what this lifted weight was. Alexis had been taken from Fang's grasp, and instead, her body seemed to be lifted up by a spiral of blackness. It cradled her, gently handling her body as not to further any damage to her person. Slowly, some of the darkness would begin to take a form. Coming together, the shadows would semi-manifest Kerrim's body. To be more precise, his upperbody took form while his lower body continued to embody his element. His arms seemed different however. They were pitch black, this accounted even for his palms. A sharp nail was visible on his fingertips. It had been Malphas, or to be more exact, a partially transformed state, with only the arms taking the appearance of the destructive beast. "Fang, what's going on!?" Kerrim spoke. When he felt the initial explosion he thought nothing of it. That was until he sensed it. Multiple auras, and for some reason, they were all remarkably similar. Similar in itself was inaccurate. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that these auras were identical to one another. Hell, Kerrim wouldn't have been able to tell the difference had it not been for the shape of those who radiated them. However, that hadn't been what drew the man's attention. No. He came rushing because he felt this same aura before. Aurora. During his reconnaissance of the archipelago before clashing with the Roman Numerals, Kerrim had detected a few of their presences long before the battles had truly begun. Yes, there was no mistaking it. These auras, while identical to one another, were also identical to that of Willahelm Bill. One of the Numerals, and a man to be revered. It was a bone chilling revelation to think that there had existed three more people who held a spirit just as powerful as his. And Kerrim would ultimately find himself at shock of the situation. So much so, he hadn't bothered to take note of Alexis's condition. "Fang!" He demanded an answer now. Fang jumped down next to Kerrim, slowing his descent with Geppo. He felt so much more relived now that the captain was there. "Nice to see you captain," Fang began, "these clowns showed up and ambushed us. Alexis got banged up pretty bad. I've been trying to get to you. Now that you're here..." He grabbed his scarf pulling it down off of his face. His face was twisted into a massive grin, showing his razor-sharp teeth. "I'd like to get the opportunity to prove my worth to the crew." Letting a sigh escape his mouth, Kerrim knew there had been no time to argue with Fang over whether this was the best course of action. Alexis hadn't been in any condition to go any further without medical care, he had to do something, and fast. "Fine. Don't let me down." Kerrim spoke, leaving the scene with haste. He could only guess the amount of time Alexis had left. Fang’s mouth contorted into a massive grin. “I won’t let you down captain.” As he spoke, his skin became covered in his Komodo dragon scales and his nails elongated into claws. Underneath his mask, the bumps that were his ears disappeared. His body remained its normal size. Almost immediately, he disappeared into the sky. He went higher and higher, jumping off the air, until the people below appeared more like ants. He turned his body, his head facing down towards the ground, and jumped off the air one more time. His entire body stiffened as he rocketed towards the ground. He pulled his fist back, then launched it ahead of him just before contact with the ground, the area turning black from his Haki. "Tekkai "Sai"!" He punched the ground with immense force. Dust was kicked up, obscuring him from vision, and the massive crater in the town became even deeper. The dust began to clear, and as it did, it became more and more apparent that the Cheeky Pirate had disappeared. Where he had made contact, a hole had appeared. Category:Role-Plays